Boiling Blood [rissa x Pahn]

[Pahn]

A southern gothic supernatural story by @rissa and @Pahn​

The midnight air in Cedar Grove, Tennessee smelled sweet, as if the trees and plants were sweating their greenness on everything. Being the middle of the summer, the light breeze was very welcomed. They were low on gas and would have to refill once they were in the heart of the town, but they weren't about to turn on the AC in the campervan. The woman sitting in the passenger seat was humming the song that was playing on the USB adapter, even if they both had a box of cassettes in the back. She was fighting the sleepiness but the heat was making it nearly impossible to keep her eyes opened.

Feet up on the dashboard and the seat reclined as far as it would go, Jackie Porter kept tapping her fingers on the outside part of the door, ticking the song away beat after beat. Once it was over, she lazily reached for her phone and selected another song, something just as smooth and jazzy to hum with. It probably would have been a good idea to go for something a little rockier, but they were almost there and then she'd be too hyped to sleep.

"Keep yer fuckin' eyes open." Jackie whispered aggressively towards her best friend, who was driving the van. "Yer papa would KILL US if we got this piece of junk wrecked." The young woman opened an eye and grinned at Eli. His papa d'Angelo would definitely kill them, even if they were already dead - he'd resurrect them with some nonsense voodoo shit and kill them again.

As that other song ended, Jackie's stomach grumbled and she had to stifle a laugh. She was always so damn hungry, she ate almost twice as much as Eli even if she didn't spend that much energy. "Bruh, a fuckin' burger right now, would be most bo-da-cious." Clearly, being hungry made her quote 90's cult movies. Rubbing her eyes, she sat in straight in her seat and looked woefully at her empty pack of cigarettes. Not that she smoked much, but sometimes, a draft or two kept her awake through the night and made her more alert. "We gotta stop somewhere, gas, food, smokes. We're just about all out."
​

 

[rissa]

"My eyes are open, thank you. And accordin' to my GPS there's still like sixty somethin' miles until we reach the heart of Cedar Grove. Which, come to think of it, is this even Cedar Grove? Like did we pass right through it or something? We saw that sign forever ago." Groaning and reaching over to take a big gulp from his lukewarm Mountain Dew, he spoke again through a half-laugh. "And let's hope this small ass town will have something open at one in the mornin'."

The muggy air caused him to sweat and his sweat caused his clothes to stick uncomfortably to his body. Half tempted to shed his shirt, Elijah instead yawned, stuck his head out the window and then motioned towards the back of the camper.

“I got an emergency pack in my duffle if you need ‘em, I wouldn’t mind one myself. And yeah, damn, I’d even make do with a shitty Mickey D’s burger, ya know?” Sighing, leaning back as he put the camper into cruise, “You wantin’ to crash in here again tonight or should we find ourself a motel?”

 

[Pahn]

"Daaamn, even a trash burger sounds perfect right now. Lemme grab that duffle." Undoing her seat belt, Jackie twisted around until she reached Eli's bag. Rummaging through it blindly, she finally found the pack of smokes. Something else that strengthened their friendship: neither of them had any time fooling around with Menthols.

Settling back and putting on her seat belt, the young woman removed the thin plastic wrapping and plopped the top off. She took two out and placed one in her mouth, then the other in Eli's mouth. Her Black Sabbath lighter lit up weakly and soon enough she was pulling a long drag from her cigarette.

"I dunno if somethin's gonna be open. I hadn't thought of that. Let's just crash in here tonight and maybe tomorrow we can pay ourselves a lil treat, eh? A coke and burger in a sweeeeet motel room with a shower. Bless!" Jackie changed the song again, this time putting on something a little more country. They were in Tennessee after all.
​

 

[rissa]

Elijah used the camper's cigarette lighter, holding it in for what seemed like an eternity until finally it was red-hot and he could take in a blissfully long drag. He ashed out the window, tapping his thumbs against the steering wheel to the rhythm of the song playing on the radio. Smiling to himself as he realized there was no where else he rather be, Elijah sang along to an old country song he and his dad used to sing together.

Miles passed and he continued, singing and humming alongside his best friend under a starry sky in Tennessee. He was tired, sure, but exhilaration tore through him at the thought of an entire summer with his best friend; on the road together, experiencing things they only dreamed about in high school and college.

“Hey, is that a light up there? Can you tell if its a headlight or a streetlamp? Can’t tell with these damn hills.”

 

[Pahn]

Jackie was butting out her cig through the window when Eli pointed at the light ahead of them. She'd always had excellent vision, and even with squinting at it she struggled to tell what it was. Poking her head out the window, the young woman waited a few minutes before nodding as she finally made out what that light was.

"Oh man, that looks like a streetlamp. It ain't movin', and I think I'm seein' some of those old neon lights that can only mean one damn thing: we're finally hitting a gas station. I hope they have burgers cause I am star-ving." Jackie sat back in her seat and stretched her legs out under the dashboard, knees hitting the glove box.

As they were getting closer to the lights up ahead, a couple more appeared and it was easier to tell what they were this time around. A few cars, two or three, were parked at what appeared to indeed be a gas station with a single streetlamp on the other side of the road. Jackie couldn't quite make out if there were people outside with how dark it was, but it was definitely a good sign that they weren't too lost and that the gas station wasn't an abandoned one. "Didn't think we'd see many other folks out at this time, but look it here, a couple o' cars right there."

 

[rissa]

Cedar Grove was probably the most boring place on earth. No offense to its locals, of course, but the place was nothing but a glorified ghost town. The gas station, which was open twenty-four hours, was the only place to get gas in either direction for nearly a hundred miles. Elijah assumed it was why the town clung to existence.

After filling up the camper's tank (as well as three extra gas containers just in case) and loading up on as much junk food, beverages, and cigarettes the camper could reasonably hold, they left the ghost town with a promise to never return. The only good thing about Cedar Grove, was the lead on where to go next.

Taped to the backside of the restroom's door, was an aged flyer, promising nothing but a good time. It had read Louisiana's Blood Moon Fesitival and while there was no year, the date it'd be taking place was nearly a week away. So after leaving Cedar Grove, Tennessee, -aka the most boring place on earth- and left for a more southern vibe.

They stopped and explored as they went, but soon enough they were on the outer-limits of Louisiana and Elijah, once again driving, tried his hardest to keep his vibes at bay. There was something strange, something overwhelming, something he couldn't quite explain...

"You ready for this Blood Moon Festival, Jackie?" He ashed into a days old can of soda and grimaced as a chill rode up his spine. "Let's hope we can find a reasonably cheap hotel too, my back is killin' me."